Allstate doubles space at Merchandise Mart

Allstate is more than doubling its offices in the Merchandise Mart that opened last year, a deal that could bring hundreds of jobs to the River North building.

The insurer has signed a lease for 57,000 square feet in the Mart, bringing its total space there to 102,000 square feet, David Greenbaum, president of Vornado Realty Trust, the building's owner, told analysts in a conference call yesterday, according to a transcript.

Last year, Allstate opened an innovation center in 45,000 square feet on the eighth floor of the Mart, with plans to employ 400 technology workers there. Based on the company's new lease, it's possible the insurer would add at least that many jobs at the Mart.

An Allstate representative did not respond to requests for comment. Vornado declined to comment.

It's unclear if Allstate plans to move employees to the Mart from its Northbrook headquarters or other offices, or if it will fill the extra space with new workers.

Suburban companies like Walgreen,​ McDonald's and Sears have set up satellite technology offices in downtown Chicago, mainly because the tech workers they want to hire prefer to work there than in the suburbs.

When it announced the opening of its Mart office, Allstate said it would employ data scientists and "innovation specialists" to work there on research projects and to develop predictive modeling systems.

With more than 4 million square feet, the Mart, which stands on the north side of the Chicago River between Orleans and Wells streets, is one of the biggest office buildings in the country. The building's office space was 99.2 percent leased at the end of the first quarter, according to Vornado, a New York-based real estate investment trust that has owned the property since 1998.